The Spurs striker, winner of the award for the last two seasons, returned at Chelsea on Sunday from three weeks out with a ligament injury.

In that time, red hot Liverpool winger Salah has pulled five goals clear in the race to become the Premier League’s top scorer.

The Egyptian - scorer of the winner at Crystal Palace on Saturday - now has 29 top flight goals compared to Kane’s 24.

But the England marksman, who saw off Romelu Lukaku last season, is relishing his toughest battle yet.

Kane came on as a substitute at Stamford Bridge (Image: REUTERS)

Kane has fired a warning to Salah (Image: Getty Images)

He said: “Salah’s done fantastic, he’s a great great player. Yeah, it’s competition. I had the same last year.

“For me, I’ve got to focus on my own game and my own team, and we’ll see what happens come the end of the season.

“He’s obviously got a bit of a head start now, and we’ll see what happens. I can’t control what he does, so I’ve just got to make sure I prepare well for games and just be ready.”

Kane had been expected to miss at least another fortnight following the injury he’d picked up at Bournemouth last month.

Salah has stolen a march in the race for the golden boot (Image: REUTERS)

He revealed the secret to his rapid recovery.

“Whenever something bad happens in football or life, you have to find the positives.” he said. “For me, it was a chance to get a couple of weeks’ break, refresh the other muscles, and get ready for the business end of the season.

“That’s how I looked at it. I didn’t know how quickly I would be back, but I went away with one of the physios, did some rehab and I knew last week it was looking good and I would be able to step it up. Thankfully I was ready for the game.”